This enjoyable enough romp is based on a stage play, and the film certainly has the feel of live theater. The Ritz Brothers (a comedy trio who were never as celebrated as the Three Stooges or Marx Brothers) star as hapless detectives hired to investigate a death threat made against a wealthy man. The threat is from none other than "The Gorilla," a mysterious killer the newspapers are always fretting about. Can our heroes save the day, or will this King Kong wannabe fulfill his hunger for blood?
Despite the theme and the fact it is often lumped together with low-grade schlock films, "The Gorilla" is actually an early horror-comedy, and a pretty good one at that. The story is interesting enough, and with a running time of just over an hour, there aren't many opportunities to be bored. The film isn't always fondly remembered because of its stars, who viewers today will look at as ripping off the Stooges. Are the Ritz Brothers comedy geniuses? No. Is the film laugh-out-loud funny? No again. But "The Gorilla" is fun enough to make it worth your while. Bela Lugosi is great as the butler.
Despite the theme and the fact it is often lumped together with low-grade schlock films, "The Gorilla" is actually an early horror-comedy, and a pretty good one at that. The story is interesting enough, and with a running time of just over an hour, there aren't many opportunities to be bored. The film isn't always fondly remembered because of its stars, who viewers today will look at as ripping off the Stooges. Are the Ritz Brothers comedy geniuses? No. Is the film laugh-out-loud funny? No again. But "The Gorilla" is fun enough to make it worth your while. Bela Lugosi is great as the butler.